Country store (Page 2): Country Stores are such great fun to visit. This is the Maple Sugaring Season. On your next visit to a Country Store, be sure to check out some Maple Cream...

Szalajj Loc: Salem, NH

Country Stores are such great fun to visit.

This is the Maple Sugaring Season.

On your next visit to a Country Store, be sure to check out some Maple Cream, which is the perfect compliment on homemade oatmeal pancakes.

Rich2236 Loc: E. Hampstead, New Hampshire

Szalajj wrote:

Country Stores are such great fun to visit.

This is the Maple Sugaring Season.

On your next visit to a Country Store, be sure to check out some Maple Cream, which is the perfect compliment on homemade oatmeal pancakes.

It's funny you should say that, Szalajj. Next Saturday, we are going to a Maple Sugar farm to tour and see how Maple Syrup is made, and of course sample same. Also, Maple Butter goes sooooooo well with Popovers. Mmmmmmmm.
Thanks for looking and also your comments,
Rich...

photophile Loc: Lakewood, Ohio, USA

Rich2236 wrote:

Now that my wife and I are living in New Hampshire... (show quote)

I enjoy country road exploring, too.

Blair Shaw Jr Loc: Dunnellon,Florida

You & she are the lucky ones. These places are so fabulous to find and when you do , you want to hang around for as long as possible to soak-up the nostalgia that emanates from such a spot and get a feel for the folks that gather there daily.

Your images tell the story that I remember as a child of what my grand-parents had when they were still with us. Lovely memories.

Jolly Roger Loc: Dorset. UK

A good set Rich.
These stores are great. Much more interesting than walking around a modern supermarket.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Nice series of photos.

Szalajj Loc: Salem, NH

Rich2236 wrote:

It's funny you should say that, Szalajj. Next Saturday, we are going to a Maple Sugar farm to tour and see how Maple Syrup is made, and of course sample same. Also, Maple Butter goes sooooooo well with Popovers. Mmmmmmmm.
Thanks for looking and also your comments,
Rich...

I grew up on homemade maple syrup, and I would often help my aunt collect the sap from her sugar maples. Getting to two of the three large sugar maple trees involved trudging across an often snow covered lawn to the far corners of the property. I even tapped the trees for her a couple of years.

It's a 40 to 1 ratio to boil down the sap into syrup, so every pint that was produced was precious.

Today's commercial maple sugaring operations use plastic tubing and gravity to move the sap from the trees to a central collection location. Mother nature just needs to provide nighttime temperatures below freezing, and daytime temperatures above 32° for the sap to run.

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

Szalajj wrote:

. . . . Today's commercial maple sugaring operations use plastic tubing and gravity to move the sap from the trees to a central collection location. Mother nature just needs to provide nighttime temperatures below freezing, and daytime temperatures above 32° for the sap to run.

Awwwww! You just blew away my mind’s romanticized image of the sap gathers wending their way through the sugar maple groves with a cart, pulled by a horse, full of wooden buckets of sap to be condensed into luscious syrup in a huge copper kettle over an open fire . . .😞

Stan

Szalajj Loc: Salem, NH

StanMac wrote:

Awwwww! You just blew away my mind’s romanticized image of the sap gathers wending their way through the sugar maple groves with a cart, pulled by a horse, full of wooden buckets of sap to be condensed into luscious syrup in a huge copper kettle over an open fire . . .😞

Stan

Technology changes over time.

I grew up with the traditional gathering and boiling methods using only three tapped trees.

But today the supply of and demand for real natural maple syrup requires efficiency, which is why most maple sugaring operations are now using the plastic tubes to collect sap. It takes less time and energy to get the sap from the source into the evaporators.

The modern "farmers" basically make 2 trips out to their trees. The first one is to tap the trees and string the tubes, and the second one is to remove the taps and tubes at the end of the sap season once the temperatures stay above freezing at night.

Some years the sap season is very short or non existent, while in other years the weather conditions produce a great abundance of sap.

Earnest Botello Loc: Hockley, Texas

Very good series, Rich.

SpyderJan Loc: New Smyrna Beach. FL

What a fun looking place Rich. I love old stores like that. So much more interesting than the plastic stores popping up everywhere. I could stay there for hours too.

Rich2236 Loc: E. Hampstead, New Hampshire

photophile wrote:

I enjoy country road exploring, too.

Thats great photophile...There is always something new to see along the way. Thanks for looking, and good exploring...
Rich...

Rich2236 Loc: E. Hampstead, New Hampshire

Blair Shaw Jr wrote:

You & she are the lucky ones. These places are so fabulous to find and when you do , you want to hang around for as long as possible to soak-up the nostalgia that emanates from such a spot and get a feel for the folks that gather there daily.

Your images tell the story that I remember as a child of what my grand-parents had when they were still with us. Lovely memories.

Wow Blair, if my images allowed you to remember those beautiful thoughts of your childhood, then my submission was worth posting. I am so glad you liked my work. G-d bless.
Rich...

Rich2236 Loc: E. Hampstead, New Hampshire

Jolly Roger wrote:

A good set Rich.
These stores are great. Much more interesting than walking around a modern supermarket.

Oh how well I know it. Thanks for looking JR. Your comment is so much appreciated.
Rich...

Rich2236 Loc: E. Hampstead, New Hampshire

jaymatt wrote:

Nice series of photos.

Thank you so much jaymatt,.. much appreciated.
Rich...